It's Magic
by CottonPerriwood
Summary: A little series of vignettes about Cassie and Sam.
1. Chapter 1

_I usually write in a small fandom for a very old movie but I have a dear friend who loves all things Hallmark, in particular the Good Witch. She was complaining about the lack of stories for this show and having never seen it I binged it over the course of a couple weeks...and well...this is the result. _

_I am a sucker for Cassie and Sam. I love them. Seriously. Good Witch has so many moving parts I didn't feel I could do an entire cohesive story justice with just one run through so I just wrote little vignettes. _

_I hope I did your little corner of Middleton justice! It was a lot of fun and Good Witch gained a new fan for certain. _

**_Interruptions_**

"Hello, Sam."

"Every time," he sighed, shoving his hands into his pants pockets and sauntering over, "One day I'll sneak up on you and …"

"One day," Cassie shot him a smirk and continued digging through a drawer in a desk he couldn't remember seeing before in the Bell Book.

"This new?" he asked, running a hand across the top of the scarred wood, "It looks," he cocked his head and studied the gauged worktop, "..uh, well loved?"

"Just got it in today," Cassie gave the desk a fond pat, "I'm not sure where its proper place is yet but I'm sure it will find its way to where it ought to be," she gave him a soft smile. "You're here. I thought you would be at the hospital till late. Hence the sudden need to do inventory and avoid our empty house," she gestured to a pile of boxes at her feet.

"I did too, but there was a complication with a patient. Irregular heartbeat, so no surgery today. I escaped out the back door," he explained as he reached out and grabbed her hand, pressing a kiss to the soft skin on the inside of her wrist before taking a deep breath.

"Patchouli?"

"And a little honey. See? You are getting better at this. I'll make a believer of you yet."

"Oh, I'm a believer all right," he murmured, nuzzling her palm.

"So, you escaped early and you came straight here?"

"I did. Do I need another excuse to visit my best girl?"

"Your _best_ girl? Are there other girls?" Cassie asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Sam chuckled, tucking a lock of hair behind Cassie's ear, "No," he offered, his voice dropping as he pressed a kiss to lower jaw, "You're the only girl," he murmured into her ear, smirking a bit as he felt her give a shiver. He loved that the thrill of touching her hadn't worn off with marriage. She raised her eyes to meet his, leaning further into his broad chest and biting a bit at her lower lip.

"Good," Cassie laughed, giving him a playful shove and stepping lightly back, "You see that it stays that way. I don't share," she wagged a finger at him.

"You? Not share? You'd give the shoes off your feet to a stranger in a snowstorm if you thought they needed them. We share that enormous house of yours with strangers every week!" He held up a hand, "And don't give me the speech about strangers being friends you haven't met yet."

"True. I do like to help where I can and I'm almost always willing to share, except when it comes to you."

"And movie snacks."

"Mmm, those two do have something in common," she crossed the room and danced her fingertips up the buttons of his shirt before tugging at his tie to draw him closer, "They are both delicious," she grinned and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"You missed," he murmured, sliding his hands to her hips and pulling her close.

"I didn't. I just don't want to start something we can't finish here in the shop."

"I can be quick," Sam offered.

Cassie raised a brow, "Is that what you want to be known for?"

Sam laughed, "You know better, in fact, if I recall this morning you were practically begging me to-"

"Martha! It's always nice to see you."

"I thought you had bells," Sam grumbled.

"Chimes," Cassie whispered, "I took them down during the storm this afternoon."

"Oh, am I interrupting a little lovers tet a tet?" Martha asked with a knowingly sly smile.

"Not at all. Sam was just-"

"Trying to remember something Cassie asked me for this morning," he grinned, enjoying the blush that spread across Cassie's cheeks, "Well, I should go run and pick up the dinner order I put in at the Bistro. I'll see you at home?" Sam asked hopefully, already looking forward to a few hours without the children.

"I won't be long. You should pick up some extra food though."

"Oh, why?" Sam turned, suddenly suspicious.

"I have a feeling Grace and Nick might make it back from the game in time to join us."

Sam rolled his eyes and took a moment to mourn the loss of his private evening, "Of course," Sam leaned in to give Cassie a frustratingly '_in front of the Mayor appropriate kiss_' on the cheek but changed course at the last minute. He'd be damned if he was going to let Martha spoil his goodbye.

He reached out and tugged Cassie forward by the hip and pressed his mouth to Cassie's, running the tip of his tongue along her lower lip tugging before he pulled away.

"Mrs. Tinsdale, always a pleasure," Sam winked at the ladies and headed out the door to the sound of merry jingles.

"Well," Martha exclaimed, fanning herself, "I don't know how you manage to stand being around him all the time without, well you know…"

"No," Cassie smiled, "Without what?"

"Well," Martha leaned in and covered her mouth, "Just throwing yourself at him or at the very least pinching that delectable-"

"Martha!"

"Oh please! Married," she wagged her ring finger in Cassie's face, "Married happily, but not blind. The way that man looks at you could start a fire without a match. Half the women in this town are enjoying simply living vicariously through you!"

"I'm sure that's not the case…"

Marth snorted loudly, "He is fooling no one Cassie Nightingale! And neither are you! The fields of flowers he orders, donating all that time to the elder care center so he could butter me up into expediting the purchase of that land where your little tree is," she added, picking up a glass picture frame and giving it a once over before pinning Cassie with a grin, "...or _maybe _it's the way he thought he was being sly yesterday…"

"Sly?" Cassie asked cautiously, already afraid of what Martha might say.

"Mm hmm, ducking the two of you into the alleyway behind Fenster's Market and putting Disney movies to _shame_. Liam wolf whistled but you didn't even hear him! Abigail said that all that was missing was the sweeping soundtrack! We all wanted to applaud!"

"Um, all? Whose all?"

"It was so wonderfully picturesque with the snow falling," Martha sighed, "By the way, I don't suppose you'll tell little old me what he whispered in your ear before he left?"

Cassie blushed, "Well, I-"

"Ha! I can see you won't. I'll bet it was very romantic," Martha sing-songed.

"Tom is a very romantic man, Martha."

"He is," Martha added, with a far away smile. "I love him dearly and I wouldn't have missed any of our thirty years together. But if we looked anything like the two of you, we would _never_ get out of bed! I haven't been able to bounce a quarter off his-"

"Grace! Nick!" Cassie practically shouted, thankfully stopping Martha from completing her sentence and embarrassing everyone in the shop.


	2. Shower

**_Shower_**

Sam rounded out the last hundred yards of his run up his old driveway and up the steps to the front door of Grey House. The corner of his mouth lifted as he let himself in, still unused to the fact that he lived here.

That he was _married. _

Checking his watch he tapped a button and logged his run while switching the music pounding in his ears to The Rolling Stones. He shucked the shoes off his feet and hooked two fingers in the heels to carry them up the stairs before a much needed shower. In his old bachelor house he would have simply stripped on the way into his bedroom, but with Grey House being full even when there weren't any guests that was no longer an option.

An awkward shirtless meeting with in the hallway with Grace and three of her friends had cured him of that little habit. He had nodded to them and tried to pretend he was fully clothed but clearly had failed, hearing one of Grace's friends whisper shout, "That's the new stepdad? He's hot for an old guy."

"Yeah. _Doctor Sam! _Your mom is a very lucky lady!"

"Did you see those arms?"

"Arms? Did you see his abs? Bet your mom likes those," the girls giggled.

Sam heard Grace make some gagging noises, "Guys, gross! I'm sure my mom doesn't think about things like that, at least that is what I'm telling myself! " Grace has exclaimed. "Sam is the best step dad I could have asked for. But _no_. Just no! No talking about how lucky my mom is!"

"Fine. We'll think about how lucky she is and discuss it when you aren't around!"

"Betcha he's a dynamite-"

"I beg you, do not finish that sentence and I'll let you know about every pop quiz for the teresy of the semester.

He hadn't blushed so hard in years and Cassie had cried she'd laughed so hard when he found her later to tell her he was never wandering around the house is less than a full snowsuit.

No sir, he waited until he had closed the bedroom door completely before peeling his sweat soaked shirt over his head and trying to walk and remove his running pants at the same time. Cassie was Zen about many things but clothes dropped _outside _the hamper was not one of them. He wiggled his socks off and tossed them over his shoulder into the hamper before he rounded the corner into the bathroom and found the shower already occupied.

By his wife.

Naked in the middle of the day.

This far he had shoved the one or forty fantasies he'd had about making love to his wife in the house while the kids were up and about into a dark corner of his mind. A corner that he busted frequently. Nosy teenagers and nosier guests had made him uneasy about doing anything more than sterling a few kisses.

A misty, "Hello Sam," floated over the foggy glass doors that were doing nothing to conceal the current occupant and everything to tease the open mouthed man wearing nothing but his earbuds.

"Hello," he managed to sound suave when inside he was dying to press his face to the glass and just be jealous of the bubbles running down her delightfully long legs. Legs that he knew felt just about perfect wrapped around..

"Sam, are you alright? You sound winded."

Sam snorted, glad the condensation prevented Cassie from clearly seeing he was panting just shy of drooling over her.

"I, uh, was running, really sweaty so needed a shower… I can, uh, come back or use the shower in Nick's room 'cause I think their home someplace-"

The door to the shower slowly opened and he watched Cassie crook her finger at him, "Or you could just join me?"

Sam just stood there.

"It's okay," she whispered, "my husband won't mind. He's a big believer in conservation."

"Well, if it's for conservation… I might consider it."

"Mmm, I'll make it worth your while."

"Sweetheart, you already have," Sam grinned, taking his time to let his gaze roam her from head to toe before he stepped in and pressed her into the nearest flat surface.

"Have you seen-"

"Do you know where Cassie-"

"You first!"

"No, go ahead," Nick laughed, "Ladies first."

"I was just going to ask if you'd seen your dad, I need a once over on my biology report and I thought I'd ask him to look at it."

"He's grabbing a shower, just finished a run," Nick explained, grabbing a couple of muffins off the counter and sending a silent prayer of thanks for the constant stream of delicious food in Grey House at all hours of the day.

"Are you sure? Because Mom just got in from the garden and said she was headed up to shower-", Grace blanched and caught Nick's widening eyes as the blood drained from his face.

"You don't think-" Nick swallowed, shaking his head in disgust. Grace nodded and Nick slowly put the muffins back into the basket.

"Lost my appetite. You'd think they'd be a little old for that," Nick suggested, stuffing notebooks into his bag as fast as he could, "I mean, my dads not a young man anymore and the upper body strength needed-"

"How do _you_ know how much upper body strength you need, mmm?"

Nick blushed, "We have HBO Grace! I know things!"

"You just keep that information to yourself, especially as it concerns our parents," Gace grimaced made a gagging sound.

"He's gonna break a hip or something…"

"Stop! Stop! After that fiasco of my friends running into Sam with no shirt on I'm already damaged for _life_."

"What fiasco? Dad was naked in the house?

"Not naked! Just without a shirt. Emily and Sophie didn't stop talking about it for weeks.."

"Yeah, I may or may not have shoved Damien Kelton into his gym locker two weeks ago for making a comment about Cassie…"

"What did he say?"

Nick shook his head, "It doesn't matter. He won't say it again. I had him pinned when Noah and the rest of the baseball team came in the locker room. He thought they would think his comment was hilarious but when he repeated it Noah took it as a personal slight against you and it was suddenly fifteen against one."

"Thanks, _little_ brother."

Nick nodded, "Anything to help out the elderly."

Grace laughed.

Nick ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "Listen, this is still a little weird, yeah? I'm glad they love each other and all but…"

"Gross."

"Totally. How about we get our school stuff, back out of the door slowly, and see if we can get Abigail to buy us something stronger than strawberry iced tea at the Bistro."

"Like brain bleach. Or a lobotomy. Whatever Stephanie has on tap."

"I was thinking of hard liquor, do you think Abigail will go for it?"

"When she's done laughing at us she just might."

Nick looked hopeful.

"I'm kidding! Not even she would do that."

"Maybe she has some chocolates that can make you forget a specific memory?"

"I wish. She makes delicious chocolate but she isn't that talented!"

"Don't give me that face Grace Russell, you Merriwicks aren't fooling _anyone_ around here. If she won't make me a memory wiping chocolate I just might let you turn me into a frog until after graduation!"

"Don't be ridiculous, I can't turn you into a frog," Grace smiled and held the door open for Nick, "I'm no good at amphibians but I can do a mean squirrel so you'd better watch it mister!"


	3. Chapter 3

**_The Secret_**

"You find them yet?" Sam yelled up the stairs, checking his watch for the tenth time in four minutes.

"Nope, but I did find one George's lures behind the washing machine."

"Great. We can try to use that to hot wire the car if we don't find the keys in the next twenty minutes."

"Very funny," Nick grumped, plodding his way down the front steps and following his father into the kitchen.

"I've looked everywhere. I swear I put them back last night on the hook," he huffed into a stool at the counter and reached for scone just as Sam reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"We have guests."

"We do," Cassie smiled, "But I already put theirs out. Those are just for my guys."

"Fantastic, thanks Cassie," Nick reached out and snagged three scones before taking a huge bite out of one, "Booberry, my faworit!"

"Mouth full son, and use a plate," Sam admonished, shoving a plate under Nicks crumbs.

"Did you eat them all already?" Grace asked, appearing from around the back steps and reaching over Nick to grab an apple.

"Not yet," Nick grinned.

"He's a growing boy-" Cassie started.

"He's a growing boy-"

"Jinx," yelled Grace, "Mom, you said the same thing about Brandon. You still do. You owe me a soda, or in my case a ride to the library," Grace grinned at her mom and took a scone off Nick's plate.

"Hey!"

"You snooze you lose! See you later at the library?"

Nick have her a blank look.

"Study Group? Chemistry?"

"Ugh."

"Kelly Stratton will be there…you could impress her with your ability to shove an entire scone in your mouth."

"Fine," Nick sighed and glanced at his phone.

"You haven't seen the keys to the Jeep have you Grace? Nick and I have just about turned over every cushion and opened every drawer in the house."

"Car keys… Did you check the side table there?" Grace asked gesturing toward the keeping room.

"Uh, which one," Nick asked, hopping up and heading over.

"On the left," Cassie and Grace answered at the same time.

"I already checked that drawer. Twice," Sam answered.

"Are you certain?" Cassie asked, wiping off the counter top where Nick had been sitting. "Sometimes we look so hard for something we miss it the first time around."

Nick slid open the drawer and turned around with the keys dangling over his index finger, "Got em'! We can head out now."

Sam shot Cassie a stunned look, "How did you? Never mind, I'll add it to my ever growing list of 'Things Poor Sam is Never Going to Understand."

Grace laughed and gathered her book bag and cost off the chair. "Ready Mom?"

"Ready," Cassie grabbed her own coat and swooped past Sam to press a kiss to his cheek. "See you guys for dinner tonight?"

"It's a date," Sam winked at her and grabbed another scone off Nick's plate.

"Hey!"

"I know you probably put two in your pocket for the ride, you can share with your old man."

Nick heard Cassie's car turn over and looked at his dad, "So, are we ever going to tell them?"

"Tell them what?"

"That we know all about what the Merriwick women can do."

"And spoil all their fun? Not a chance. Besides who would find the keys for us?"


	4. Chapter 4

**_At the Store_**

_(and don't pretend you haven't imagined it!)_

Sam peered through the window of the Bell Book, spotting Cassie through the glint of the sun on the glass. She was chatting to a couple of older ladies he recognized as regulars to the shop. He rubbed a hand against his chest, still enjoying that she could make his breath catch and his heart ache after all this time. He had been stretching himself thin between his practice and the hospital this week, barely managing to catch her in the morning for a quick hello. The last three days he hadn't even managed that. Cassie had become a habit, an addiction really. The smile on her face, the smell of her hair, that fantastic shiver she made when he kissed that soft skin on her neck.

He missed her.

Badly.

He rolled his eyes at himself. The Sam Radford that had left New York would never be caught dead pining over a woman he lived next door too. Hell, he hadn't known who lived next door to him. But here he was, standing out in the rain after lying to his assistant about an errand he needed to run so he might catch her alone for five minutes.

Did fantasizing about sweeping your girlfriend into your arms and doing all the things that had been keeping him awake at night count as an errand?

She looked up and smiled at him. How she knew when he was around was still a mystery to him. He wondered briefly if she could read his mind as well. Hopefully not. He smiled back and held open the door for a couple of customers before letting himself into the shop.

Cassie handed one of the women a brown glass bottle and turned to Sam, "Ladies, this is Sam. Sam this is Arlene and Gladys, the famous Pike sisters".

"Ladies. What are you famous for?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," giggled Arlene, who was on the darker side of eighty if she was a day.

"I would," Sam smiled.

"I thought you were having lunch with Tom this afternoon?" Cassie interrupted before  
Areleen could actually tell Sam what she and her sister where famous for, "Did I get my days wrong?"

Sam had been staring at the shine off of Cassie's lips and wondering what flavor her gloss was today when she touched him lightly on the arm.

"Sam?"

"Uh, no, not at all." _Get it together, Radford_, Sam admonished himself. "Tom had to cancel, Martha has an emergency, something about sidewalk parameters. I'm on my way back to the office and I just thought I'd stop by."

"I'm so glad that you did. We've missed you around Grey House. I even made real coffee the other day but you had already left for the hospital," Cassie turned to Galdys and Arelene and handed them a couple of small bottles. "Just a drop of each of these in your tea at night should help with the arthritis, Gladys."

"Thank you, Cassie."

"You made real coffee and I missed it?"

"You did, and anything else that might have come with it," Cassie gave him a sly wink.

"If you'll just excuse us a minute, ladies," Sam smiled, taking Cassie by the hand, "I just have to borrow her for two minutes," he said, leading her towards the little blue door at the back of the shop.

"Hmm, I'd like him to borrow me for two minutes!"

"Arlene!"

"Oh, please. You were thinking it!" She laughed, holding up the glass bottle Cassie had handed her. "I think this will work. I'll just let Tara ring us up and then we can go get some lunch."

"Don't you want to wait for Cassie to come back?"

"Gladys, honey, we aren't that old! Did you see the way he looked at her? She isn't coming back in two minutes," Arelene wiggled her eyebrows and waited a beat for Gladys to catch on.

"Oh...Oh!," Gladys sighed, "those were the days, huh?"

"Mmm hmm."

Sam jiggled the doorknob until it gave and tugged Cassie through behind him, shutting it firmly.

"Sam? Is everything-" the next words were lost as Cassie felt her back hit the door and heard the slap of Sam's palms as they landed on either side of her shoulder, caging her in.

He didn't bother to answer her question as he closed the distance between them slanting his mouth against hers, running his tongue along the seam of her lower lip until she invited him in with a gasp.

"Cinnamon," he mumbled against her mouth.

He rubbed his tongue against hers, pressing his hips into her, letting her feel how much he wanted her. One hand snuck down her arm and over her hip before settling across the small of her back.

He pulled back a bit, running his thumb along her kiss swollen lower lip, "You made me coffee," he mumbled against her lips before giving in to the urge to taste her again.

"I really like the cinnamon," he teased, pulling back and taking in her wide eyes, the pupils blown.

"Sorry to surprise you, but I-" he stammered, "I walked by and I saw you and I just...you're so damn gorgeous. I've been so absent all week. I've missed you and I'm afraid that I-" he shook his head as if to clear it.

Cassie ran her palms up his chest and hooked her hands over his shoulders, "What Sam? What are you afraid of?" She asked patiently giving him the time to answer.

Sam shook his head, "Cassie, you have no idea. Things have been so perfect between us and I want to move at your pace, I do. I promised you in your kitchen, no pressure. I meant that. No. Pressure.," Sam gave a nervous laugh, "Sometimes I look at you and…" he rubbed a hand down his face, exasperated with his inability to just force out the words.

Cassie watched him clench and unclench his fist, "And what Sam? You can tell me anything," she reached out and gently unfurled his fingers and entwined them in hers.

"Not this. We haven't had any conversations about this and I—if I told you what I was thinking right now, about this-"

"This what?"

"This!' he gestured at the space between them. "The way I wanted to punch Ryan in his smug face the moment I met him for even looking your direction. The way I hold back from touching you all the time because we are in front of the kids or the guests or the entire town! The way I give you a little peck on the cheek when what I really want to do is kiss you until I forget my name," he confessed, running his thumb against her bare collarbone.

"Sam," she murmured, closing her eyes and wondering if he could feel her pulse pound in her throat.

"The way I can hardly focus when you wear that blue silk dress with the silver zipper down the back and all I can think about is peeling you out of it so I can kiss every inch of skin underneath."

"The way I can't wait to find out if you taste delicious everywhere," he confessed, unable to resist pressing a kiss to her jaw.

"The way I wake up in sweaty sheets with your name in my mouth."

"Oh, Sam…" Cassie gasped, tugging him by the nape of the neck and standing on her toes kiss him, hard. Sam gave a little growl before letting his hands slide down her back and over her tailbone, slipping a hand down to grip her thigh and raise it over his hip. He kissed her again and again, sucking at her lower lip and grinning into the kiss when he heard the little whimpers of pleasure she made.

Cassie ran her hands under the shoulders of Sam's jacket pushing until he understood and shrugged out of the jacket without breaking their kiss.

"Sam, I've thought about you too."

"Have you?" He teased, licking into her panting mouth and burying his fingers in her hair. "All alone in your great big bed?"

She blushed her answer and pulled back from his arms, shaking her head, "Sam, I've been avoiding this conversation too."

Sam tightened his hold on the hand he held, "Cassie, sweetheart, I'm so sorry if I pushed you today-"

"You didn't. There was no pressure. I want you to touch me. To kiss me. I don't want you to hold back. I wasn't always honest with Jake and I don't want to make the same mistake with you. I just didn't want you to be disappointed when you found out I can't always...focus. Sometimes, I can feel everyone around me and it's just too much. It was one of the few things we disagreed about, my inability to focus on just us when there was just too many different types of energy around. He never really understood and I know you don't believe in most of this…" she trailed off, looking into his eyes.

Sam have a little grunt and pulled her to rest against his chest and just let the silence hold them for a minute.

"I believe in you. And I believe what you say you're feeling you are, even if I don't understand it. Thank you for trusting me. For telling me."

"Thank you for accepting it."

"I'll always accept a challenge from you."

"A challenge?"

"Oh yeah, the gauntlet has been thrown. You know how much I like a good mystery. I'm going to spend the rest of forever figuring out how to help you focus. I want to watch you fall apart every way I can think of."

"Sam-"

"Ah ah ah, don't spoil my fun. I'm already plotting how I can convince you to come with me to the lake house, alone. Cassie, if I have to order Grey House cleared once or six times a week, I will. Trust me, nothing will get Nick and Grace to leave faster than if I hint I want some time alone with you."

Cassie laughed, "And what about Abigail?"

"Oh, I'll just tell her straight out to leave because I plan on taking advantage of her cousin on the next available flat surface. She'll be thrilled."

"Thrilled?"

"Last week when I picked up those tulips she shoved them at me and told me to, and I quote, 'Get off my ass and do something about the amount of sexual tension her cousin was holding in before she burns Grey House down accidentally. She kept ranting about how she can tell what people want and being in the same room with you is giving her hives."

Cassie rolled her eyes, "I'll talk to her about boundaries, _again_. But she's not wrong."

"You know what they say is good for that sort of tension?" He held up his hands, splaying his long fingers and broad palms, "I'm really good with them," he smirked at her.

Cassie huffed and rolled her eyes, "I know you are."

"I'm so good they are even insured," he teased.

Cassie turned around so she could kiss his cheek, "Well Mister Lloyds of London, are you going to try right here in the storeroom then?"

"Nope."

"No? Not so sure of yourself then?"

"Oh, I'm sure," he stood and offered her a hand up and tugging her into his arms. "But I promised Eve I would be back ten minutes ago…" he trailed off as he watched Cassie run her hand down his chest and curl her fingers into his belt buckle to pull him closer. She used her body to press him against the wall and Sam could practically feel his pupils dilate with pleasure as she pressed kisses against his jaw toward his ear lobe.

"Well," she whispered into the shell of his ear, "Maybe I can make sometime for you tonight to see if you are worth that expensive insurance policy," she gave his earlobe a nip and then stepped aside to open the door, flooding the store room with light.

"You really wanted to punch Ryan when you first met him?"

"Still do."

"Sam!"

She turned back and pointed to a box of lightbulbs at his feet,

"Just take as many as you need." she called out, sauntering onto the floor as though she and Sam had spent the time searching for said light bulbs. Sam grinned and grabbed the box, grateful for something to carry in front of him.

Letting the jingle of the door carry him out Sam glanced back inside and watched as Cassie gently guided a customer over to a bookshelf. He shifted the box under one arm, flipped his collar up against the cold, and dug his cell phone out of his pocket.

"Abigail, I need a favor," he started, smiling to himself. "I need Grey House empty for a few hours tonight. Can you suddenly need Nick and Grace at the shop?"

"Well I can always use the help, but Nick is hopeless with arrangements. I tried before. Not bad with deliveries though. What about Georg?"

"George went fishing with some buddies."

Abigail huffed, "How long?"

"Three hours max."

"You will owe me, of course."

"Of course, I'll owe you one.

"Mmm, just one? Its very last minute…"

"Two?"

"How badly do you want these hours, Sam?"

"I'll order flowers once a week till the end of the year, just please?"

"Are you sure you don't need more time? Should I take them to Blairsville for the night?"

"No! I just need a couple hours. I want to make Cassie dinner and-"

Abigail laughed, "Is that what they are calling it these days?"

"It's not a euphemism, Abigail. It's dinner. Food, forks."

"Are you sure three hours will be enough? I mean doesn't the medication need a little time to take effect?'

"Does what medication need time to take effect?"

"Well, Sam for men of a certain age a little help is needed, I'm sure Cassie has something in the Bell that-"

"No! I don't need-"

"Self medicating then?"

"I am not self medicating! That isn't an issue-"

Abigail cackled into the phone, "Sam, I'm teasing. Three hours. No kiddos. I got it. You don't have to buy flowers every week. Every other is fine. I already texted them. They can help in the shop and we can get some food for bottomless pit Nick at Stephanie's and then hit a movie. Give you a few extra minutes for that...dinner."

"Thank you, I think."


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, Sam."

"Cassie, why are you awake?" Sam whispered, flipping his wrist so he could see his watch face.

"It's four in the morning," he scoffed, toeing off his running shoes and tossing his bag on a nearby chair.

"Couldn't sleep without you," she offered, reaching an arm out to flick on a lamp.

"Aww. You sure it wasn't because I tripped over that floor lamp on my way out this morning and-"

"Taught me some new words and phrases I hadn't heard used together before," Cassie smirked as Sam blushed.

"Yeah, that. But it hurt," Sam pouted, scanning the room where the offending light had been, "Did you already move it?"

"I did. Made sure that the next time you have to be a hero to a brand new mom and dad in the middle of the night you can do it without risking breaking your neck," Cassie shoved the covers off her body and started to push herself up from the bed.

"Uh uh. Stay right there," Sam yanked his t-shirt over his head and tossed it over a shoulder, "I like you just how you are now. All warm and sleep soft. Just about the only thing that kept me warm on my way home was the thought that I would get to crawl back into bed with you. The heaters off in the Jeep, again. Going to have to get a new car. I don't think even George can work any more magic with it." Sam added, shucking off his sweatpants and holding them up in the low light.

Realising they were a dark purple.

Cassie wrinkled her nose, "Because you ran out of here without a coat on and wearing a pair of  
Abigail's old sweatpants from the donation pile…"

"Do they say "Juicy" on the ass?"

Cassie smiled, "Yup."

"That explains a lot about tonight actually. Or rather this morning."

Cassie raised a questioning brow.

"Once baby Jacob decided to stop scaring his mother to death with the worst case of hiccups I have ever heard in my entire medical career, she and Jared kept shooting me odd looks and asking me if they had interrupted something. Asking did I always get dressed in the dark. I looked down to check that I had on matching shoes!"

Sam rolled his eyes at Cassie trying to hold back laughter, "I just kept saying no, we had been in bed," Sam smirked, "Guess that was the wrong choice of words."

Cassie laughed out loud, "Sam!"

"Then on the way out Lydia just looked at me and burst out laughing, asking if Cassie was okay with the way I advertised the goods. I thought she meant that ridiculous pamphlet thing that got sent out from the hospital…"

Cassie brushed the tears of laughter off her cheeks, "Lydia and Gabe are definitely getting a gift from the Bell later today. There is a really gentle mixture of water, fennel, chamomile and ginger that can help out. Grace was famous for her, well, a myriad of traditional baby ailments. And for the record, I absolutely don't mind you advertising the goods."

"Very funny. You realize that as soon as Jared gets in to work he's going to tell Martha and then everyone in town will know, probably in under ten minutes it will be on the specials board at the Bistro."

"Maybe not. You never know, new parents are so sleep deprived he might think he dreamed up the whole thing."

"Maybe."

"I know their grateful to you. I can't tell you how much it would have meant to me when Grace was a baby to know my pediatrician would come rushing over if I needed him. At two in the morning no less."

"You had Jake."

"I did, some nights. But more often than not it was just me home with the kids while Jake was working. Three in the morning can be a lonely place."

"Everything is magnified in the dark," Sam tucked a finger under the silk strap resting over Cassi's collarbone and pushed it down off her shoulder, running his hand down her arm.

"True. In bad ways and good," Cassie reachedr out and cuped Sam's jaw, tugging him close and pressing a kiss to his mouth. "Thank you."

Sam looked puzzled.

"You're a good man, Sam Radford," she offered, leaning in to kiss him again.

"I got it," Sam tucked the phone into his shoulder while he locked the door to the office. "A couple of eggplants that don't look sad, text you if I'm unsure, and a bottle of red."

"No, it's not too much trouble. Where did you hear that?"

Sam rolled his eyes, "Of course she did. Eve means well but-"

"Well, I mean it was busy but 'rushed off my feet' is an exaggeration."

"Happy eggplant and wine."

"I love you too."

Sam tucked his phone down into his coat pocket and dug out his gloves, the temperature was dropping fast and he looked up to see if snow as a possibility.

"Sam!"

"Liam!"

"I'm glad I ran into you! Come walk with me to the brewery. I stopped by the shop for more of that oil that helps Noah's allergies and Cassie mentioned that she was going to ask you to stop for wine on the way home. I have the perfect thing and I totally owe you and Cassie."

"You do not. I can stop on my way home."

"Nope, my treat. I insist. We just have to pop into the Bistro and pick up some cupcakes from Stephanie. One of the servers birthdays."

"Look at you," Sam smiled, yanking open the door to the Bistro, "turning into boss of the year!"

Liam laughed and sidled up to the bar and held out a stool for Sam, "I don't know, I hear tell you are the most popular doctor at Hillcrest."

"Lies," Sam smiled, "I might have had a moment of glory but there is a new intern that, and I quote, looks like he stepped off the set of a movie."

"I don't know about that, Dad," Nick walked up and slapped his father on the back. Rather hard.

Sam snorted, "Where did you come from?"

Nick jerked his head toward the couches bordering the wall where Grace raised a hand in a wave, "Study group for physics."

"Really?" Sam asked.

"Dad, I'm hurt. I enjoy learning new things."

Sam raised and eyebrow.

Nick sighed, "Grace made me."

"Ah, the truth shall set you free."

"So what's this I hear about you losing most popular doctor status to a resident?"

"It's true."

"Not what I heard."

"Me either," Stephanie plopped a box of pink sparkly frosted cupcakes on the counter, "In fact, Adam heard that-"

"Well, if it isn't Middleton's "juiciest" doctor!" Martha announced.

"Just shoot me now."


	6. Chapter 6

_Sam is almost always dressed in long sleeves. We get the occasional t-shirt, which is a crime because James Denton in a t-shirt? Nice. He was in a Hallmark movie years ago and a tattoo on his left arm was visible. I mean, Sam was supposedly in a band with long hair back in the day. Why the Good Witch hasn't taken advantage of this is beyond me. So I thought, why let a good tattoo go to waste? Cassie certainly shouldn't. _

"I can't thank you all enough for volunteering to help set up the Summerfest booths on this blistering hot afternoon," Martha simpered. She swatted Abigail on the shoulder and sauntered away with her '_Martha for Middleton_' campaign fan fanning furiously and a "yoohoo" for the next unsuspecting victim.

Abigail rolled her eyes at Martha's 'thanks to all the _little people' _routine, "I think she means volun-_told_," she snorted, dragging another box of daisies onto the table in front of her.

"She didn't even bother to ask me in person! She just sent a text with instructions on food for the volunteers and when to show up," Stephanie added, dropping a cooler onto the table with a huff.

Stephanie patted the lid of the cooler, "I'll be charging the city a premium for dropping this on me last minute. Good cause or not," she huffed, wiping at the sweat on her forehead.

Cassie smiled, pleased that Stephanie and Abigail had shown up to help, "Well, Martha knows that she can always count on you two. Being someone that can be counted on is never a bad thing."

"Being someone who can _sleep in_ is never a bad thing," Abigail grumbled, folding a stray flyer from the festival into a rudimentary fan and rolling her eyes good naturedly at her do-gooder cousin, "I'm exhausted."

"Oh, did the very dashing Mayor Davenport keep you up late last night?" Stepahnie asked, bumping Abigali's hip with a sly wink.

Abigail snorted, "I wish. It was the end of the month books for the shop. Who knew selling flowers would require so much paper?"

Stephanie groaned, "Don't remind me. My laptop and I have a hot date tonight. But at least he won't mind if I wear ratty sweatpants with fuzzy socks and eat popcorn for dinner because I'm too tired to make an effort."

"The perfect man, silent and obedient," Abigail laughed and Stephanie nodded with a smirk.

Abigail elbowed Cassie, "Speaking of the perfect man, here one comes right now."

All of the ladies looked out onto the square to see who Abiagil was talking about.

"I don't think I've ever seen our illustrious Doctor Sam without a dress shirt and trousers, and running clothes don't count. The jeans are a really good look. And the toolbelt is just, yummy," Stephanie smirked.

"Do you think he'd spin around if I asked him too?" Abuagil asked, twirling a finger absently. "I wonder if the view is this good from all sides."

"Abigail…" Cassie cautioned, but her smile widened as she watched Sam walk closer.

"I wouldn't really ask him! Well, not in front of you anyway."

Cassie laughed and started to help Stephanie unpack one of the coolers of food for the volunteers.

"Okay, that's just about the cutest thing I've seen today," Grace pointed out Sam as she joined the ladies with the last of Stephanie's boxes from the Bistro.

"It certainly is chivalrous," Abigail nudged Cassie again, "Get your head out of the cooler you have to see this! He stopped to help Bethany with little Liam. Who doesn't love a handsome man with a baby in his arms?"

There was a chorus of "awws' as Sam shifted the baby in his arms like a pro and appeared to be having a serious conversation with the little boy about the bubbles floating past from the playground.

"I think one of my ovaries just shifted," Stephanie gripped her hip and sighed. "I really should have tried harder with that man..." she shot Cassie a grin, "...but he was a goner before our first date—which incidentally Cassie cooked for us! And he didn't stop talking about her the entire time. Are you sure he doesn't have a long lost brother?"

"Wait, wait!" Abigail whisper shouted, "Is that a…" she pushed her sunglasses up on her head and squinted a little into the sunlight.

"Oh. My. God. It is! Sam has a tattoo!" she slapped Cassie on the arm. "You young lady have been holding out on us! He's been a bad boy all along and you never said a word!"

"Um, I didn't know," Cassie shrugged, pushing her own sunglasses up and squinting a bit herself to get a better look.

"Are you joking?" Stephanie asked, fishing into her pocket for her glasses so she could get more than a blurry look.

"No, when would I have seen that?"

"You haven't seen him without a shirt on?" Abigail asked, raising a brow and giving Cassie a _I don't believe you for a second _look.

Stephanie nodded sagely, "One of my exes was like that, you know, one of those guys who likes it dark in the room when you-"

"Impressionable child here!" Grace shouted, covering her ears and backing away from the table, "I'm just going to find Nick and get him to throw up with me before we consider running away to Timbuktu."

"I've seen Donavan without a shirt on and we haven't known each other for years like you and Sam!"

"You have?"

"Oh yeah," Abigail smirked, "Great abs."

"Have you guys already…" Stephanie made a vague gesture with her hands.

"No. Not for lack of trying on my part but he's old fashioned and I kind of like that about him. I spilled yogurt all down the front of him at the sho[ and he had to take it off so I could rinse it in the shop sink in the back. I took a _really_ long time to rinse it," Abigail laughed.

"Abigail!" Cassie admonished while Stephanie gave her a grin and a high five.

"You seriously didn't know he had a tattoo?"

"No," Casie shook her head, "but if I had, I can't imagine I would have found a way to work it into casual conversation."

"You don't work something like in. You make a public service announcement the next time we eat lunch together," Abigail huffed.

"And you describe it in _dirty _details", Stephanie added with glee.

"I don't have any dirty details!"

"And from where I am sitting that is crying shame. You have clearly been wasting your time...and ours!" Abigail shook her head in disgust. "Look at him! Tight jeans, white t-shirt, toolbelt on his hips and a baby on his bicep. This is a Hallmark movie in one picture!"

Stepahnie nodded sagely, "It really is. I'm sorry Cassie, you know I love you and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you but, if you aren't trying to get that man alone and horizontal every chance you can I'm not sure we can be friends!"

"I think maybe we should leave poor Sam alone and finish helping Stephanie unpack," Cassie shoved a box in Abigail's direction and smiled.

Abigail started unpacking with a grin, "I still expect you to at least ask about it later."

"The getting horizontal and the tattoo!" Stephanie called over her shoulder.

"I'll think about it, not the horizontal, Stephanie..." Cassie hedged, biting her lip a bit to keep herself from agreeing wholeheartledy and dragging Sam behind the nearest booth and...

"I'll think about the horizontal for you," Abigal offered with a laugh.

"Abigail!" Cassie blushed and was grateful that Sam was out of earchot of the conversation.

"Okay, but if you think too long I'm just going to have to jump in and stir the pot again. And you don't want that do you?"

"Uh oh, might not have to stir that pot, honey," Stepahnie jerked her head toward a red head in a short sundress and sky high red wedges, "Here comes Daphne Reynolds sauntering right up to Sam. Seriously? Has she not been in this town for the last couple of years? All Sam needs is a collar and leash the way he pants after Cassie!

"Oh!" Abigail exclaimed, grabbing Stephanie by the arm, "She did not just adjust her boobs in front of him! Has she no shame?"

"Please, she's hungry for husband number four and it looks like Doctor Radford is on the menu. Cassie! Are you just going to stand there and let her and her triple D's flirt with Sam?"

Cassie smiled, "I trust Sam. Completely."

Stephanie snorted, "Trust Sam all you want, it's her you should be worried about. She looks ready to unhinge her jaw and swallow him whole like a viper."

"Cassie, if you aren't going to go over there then I will-"

"No, wait," Cassie gently placed her hand on Abigails arm to halt whatever plans she might have for poor Daphne, "Sam can handle himself, Abigail. I appreciate the gesture but it's not needed," Cassie added with the breezy assurance of a woman who knows she is well loved.

"I don't know Cassie…" Stehanie trailed off as Sam and Daphne turned towards Cassie and Sam shot Cassie a slow sexy wink before turning back to a rapidly retreating Daphne.

"Do not say I told you so," Abigail grumbled, although a smile tugged at her mouth, pleased for her cousin and her stupid in love fiance.

"I would never," Cassie smiled back, her cheeks heating under everyones gaze.

"Fine, you were right. Now go over there and greet your man and find out about the mystery tattoo before I do," Abigail gave Cassie a playful shove in the back, "Go on!"

* * *

"I didn't know you were going to be here today," Cassie pushed her sunglasses back onto her forehead.

Sam flipped a piece of folded paper open, "From the desk of Mayor Tinsdale. Apparently, I was urgently needed to provide medical support and oversee the construction of several booths for the Summerfest, despite the fact that I'm not great with construction work. I tried to tell Martha and she said if I could reattach an arm I could build a booth. She had Eve clear my schedule for me. Without asking me first of course."

"Of course."

"So is it just me or is there more giggling directed toward us than usual," Sam jerked his thumb at Stephanie and Abigail who were busy doing nothing while trying to look like they weren't up to something.

Cassie rolled her eyes, "They aren't going to stop anytime soon. I'm over here on a bit of dare actually. They want me to ask you something."

"Oh yeah?" Sam cocked his head, "What? I don't have any secrets from you."

"That's not entirely true," Cassie reached out and pushed the sleeve of his t-shirt up his arm until the tattoo was visible. "This was a bit of a secret."

"Oh!" Sam grinned. "I didn't know that you didn't know."

"Well, I haven't exactly seen you without a shirt, so…"

"In all fairness, I haven't seen you without a shirt either," Sam raised an eyebrow as Cassie blushed, watching as Abigail and Stephainie sauntered over, their curiosity getting the best of them.

"Ladies, how are we this afternoon?" Sam asked, reaching out to lace his fingers into Cassie's and draw her to his side.

"So, did you get the whole story behind the mystery tattoo?" Abigail asked, sliding up beside Cassie and dragging a curious Stephanie behind her.

Cassie pushed his sleeve up the rest of the way to reveal an elaborate caduceus.

"No mystery really," Sam shrugged, "Got it in med school. A bunch of us went just before we graduated. Thought it was a grand idea at the time."

"I'm usually the Merriwick known for dating the bad boys. Glad to see my cousin still has it in her!" Stephanie teased, raising her brows at Cassie and winking, "Well, we are going to see if we can talk the cotton candy guy into giving us a free sample!"

"Something tells me you two won't have any trouble doing that," Sam mock saluted them and turned back to Cassie, his eyes a little clouded with concern, "Do you mind the tattoo?" asked Sam, a little bit of hesitancy creeping into his voice.

"Mind? Not at all," Cassie said, tracing the snakes with her fingertip absently.

"Linda hated it. Thought it was tacky."

"Mmmm."

"So after the divorce I got another one to celebrate."

Cassie shoved up the shirt sleeve on his other arm and found it bare, she shot Sam a questioning look.

"Nope, not there. Are we telling all our secrets today? Because I gotta be honest, I have _a lot _of questions," Sam grinned, "I really don't have any secrets from you. Do you want to see it?"

"I'd love to see it, unless it requires you to take off your pants?"

"No," Sam laughed, "Martha would have me arrested for sure," he grinned as he reached down and swept his t-shirt over his head leaving the shirt to dangle from his forearms. He twisted so Cassie could see the ink on his upper left shoulder blade.

* * *

Abigail reached out and closed Stephanie's open mouth with her index finger as they watched Sam tug his shirt back over his head and plant a kiss on Cassie's hot pink cheek.

"Well," she tossed the cotton candy into the trash can, "I don't know about you but I need a drink. A real drink."

"You can count me in on that drink," offered Martha, clucking her tongue and humming with approval as Cassie reached out to grab Sam's hand and drag him in for a longer kiss on the mouth.

"Martha! You're the Mayor, " Stephanie gasped.

"Just checking on a constituent,"

"You mean checking _out_ a constituent," Abrigail snarked, bumping Martha on the shoulder.

"Mmm," Martha hummed in agreement.

"Anybody catch what the ink was on his back?" Abigail asked.

"Uh uh. I was too busy checking out the front."

"Don't you two have rather handsome men of your own around here somewhere?" Martha asked.

"Somewhere," Stephanie sighed, "With a to do list a mile long from their Mayor!"

"And not shirtless in a toolbelt," Abigail huffed, eyeing the square and finding Donavon who was following behind Adam with a wheelbarrow.

"But I have high hopes for the Beach Blast next month," Abigail chuckled and caught stephanies eye.

"Then I will look forward to putting both your names on the volunteer list!" Martha called over her shoulder.

* * *

Cassie gave Sam a grin after ending their kiss and stepping back a bit from the temptation.

"I like that one too," she offered, pointing to his shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

"So does this mean I get to see you without your shirt off too?"

"Sam!"

"A guy can try, right?"

"Try is the right word."

"So do you have any?"

"Any what?"

"Ink. Does the mysterious Cassie Nightingale have a tattoo?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out."

"That's as good as a yes! Where? Can I see it?"

"I think I can allow you to check for one, Doctor. Just not on the town square."

"When?"

"On our honeymoon," Cassie winked and walked off leaving an open mouthed Sam behind.


End file.
